WASHINGTON (AP) — Stepping into his second term, President Barack Obama took the oath of office Sunday in an intimate swearing-in ceremony at the White House, the leader of a nation no longer in the throes of the recession he inherited four years ago but still deeply divided.

The president, surrounded by family in the ornate White House Blue Room, was administered the brief oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts. With Obama's hand resting on a Bible used for years by Michelle Obama's family, the president vowed "to support and defend the Constitution of the United States," echoing the same words spoken by the 43 men who held the office before him.

About a dozen family members were on hand to witness Obama's swearing in, including the first lady, daughters Malia and Sasha, the president's sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and her family. Mrs. Obama's mother Marian Robinson, and the first lady's brother, Craig Robinson and his family. A few reporters also were in the room.